Parents II
by Pessimistic Romanticist
Summary: All 10 year old Alexa-Nicole Miller wants for Christmas, is for her separated parents to get back together , using her mothers optimism and her fathers stubbornness, she will do everything in her power to make that happen even if it means literally locking them in a room together. Future fic, Jess/Nick Cece/Schmidt, some angst , rated T for adult themes in later chapters.
1. All I want for Christmas

A/n: Here is the story I mentioned in my author note on the second chapter of "Miller meets day", again this is unrelated to my 8 prompt stories,this idea has been in my head for about a week, it will be fairly short probably 2-3 chapters and I hope you enjoy it.

-Pessi . Rom

Parents II

Summary: All 10 year old Alexa-Nicole Miller wants for Christmas, is for her separated parents to get back together , using her mothers optimism and her fathers stubbornness, she will do everything in her power to make that happen even if it means literally locking them in a room together. Future fic, Jess/Nick Cece/Schmidt, some angst , rated T for adult themes in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Alexa and Ben.

"Alexa, your dad is here!" Jess called out to her daughter.

"I'm coming! My dads here, I'll Skype you later Ben." Alexa said yelling back then facing her laptop and addressing her best friend on the screen. She then packed up her laptop and grabbed her duffel bag before bounding down the stairs, where her parents stood waiting.

"Daddy!" Alexa said hugging her dads waist.

"Hey, kiddo, I missed you." Nick said hugging his daughter tightly.

" You saw me yesterday ." Alexa giggled. Her father had picked her up from school the previous day and it was his turn to have her for the whole weekend.

"I know but I'm always gonna miss you when I'm not with you, you're my baby girl. You ready to go? Nick said kissing the top of her head.

"Yep." Alexa said.

"Do you have everything sweet heart?" Jess asked.

" Yes, mom." Alexa said.

"Good. Nick, no sweets before dinner and make sure she takes her asthma medicine before bed." Jess said.

"I know Jess, you don't have to remind me ." Nick said.

"You don't have to catch an attitude, it never hurts to double check." Jess said a scowl on her face.

"I'm not gonna fight with you Jess." Nick said running his hand over his face.

"Fight, whose fighting I would never fight in front of our D-A-U-G-H-T-E-R" Jess said.

"You know I can spell ,I'm ten, not four." Alexa said rolling her eyes.

" I know sweetheart, I'm sorry. Have fun, call me later." Jess said.

"Its ok, Mom, I will." Alexa said walking over to her mother.

"I love you." Jess said hugging her daughter.

"Love you too Mom, bye." Alexa said grabbing her bag and following her father to his car.

Jess watched Nick drive off, sighed then closed the door. She never wanted this for her daughter, not with what her own parents had put her through. Nick and her just couldn't work out their issues and she refused to fight in front of their daughter. So four months ago,after months of fighting, they decided to have a trial separation, and she didn't know if they would reconcile.

She still loved Nick, not that she would admit it out loud, but something was broken between them, something she didn't know how to fix. No matter what was wrong between them, she wanted to make sure Alexa saw her father. Alexa adored Nick , and he was an amazing father.

* * *

"What do you want to do today Lexi?" Nick asked his daughter using her nickname.

" Can we do some Christmas shopping, I still need to get Mom's gift and something for Ben." Alexa said.

"Sure kiddo. Do you want to get some lunch first?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, can we get burgers from Charlies?" Alexa asked referring to her favorite restaurant in the food court of their local mall.

"Sounds great". Nick said. He hated shopping, more than he hated the mall, but he'd do anything to keep his little girl happy. Even if that meant, helping her pick out a gift for her mother.

God knows he still loved Jess,but he'd screwed up somehow and lost the best thing that ever happened to him,other than the birth of his daughter. And he didn't even know where to begin to fix things between him and Jess, all they ever did when they spoke was fight.

They arrived at the mall , as they ate their burgers, Alexa talked her fathers ear off about school and her friends. Her blue eyes ,so much like her mothers, sparkled as she spoke . She was almost a spitting image of her mother,with the exception of her hair, it was the color of her father and less curly then her mothers.

"What about this one,Dad?" Alexa asked as they looked at a pair of blue diamond earrings. Nick couldn't help but notice they were the same shade as Jess' eyes.

"Those are nice." Nick said then looked away from the earrings.

"You think Mom will like them?" Alexa asked looking over the earrings again.

"I'm sure your mother will love them." Nick said smiling at his daughter. He took a deep breath to try to get himself to stop thinking about his estranged wife and the way she'd look with those earring on.

"Hey ,There's your uncle Nick and Alexa!" A voice called out.

Nick turned to see Schmidt walking over, a young boy walking with him with brown eyes and tan skin and light brown hair.

"Hey, Schmidt, hey Ben." Nick said.

"Hi Uncle Schmidt, Hi Ben." Alexa said smiling at her uncle and her best friend.

"Sup." Ben said smiling at his Uncle Nick and his best friend.

"Where's Cece?" Nick asked, looking around. Cece and him weren't on the best of terms. Cece blamed Nick for the separation and basically give him the silent treatment when ever she saw him.

"Shes looking at some dresses, Ben and I just came from the shoe store, we came here to get a bracelet for Cece." Schmidt explained.

"Lexi's looking at earrings for J-,her mom." Nick said, just saying her name brought up memories, of how she used to tell him she loved the way he said her name.

"That's cool." Schmidt said. He wasn't really sure what to say to Nick these days, he couldn't really take sides. On one hand, Nick was his best friend, but Jess was his friend too and not only that,but she was his wife, Cece's, best friend, it was a complicated situation. He just wished the two would get back together already so things could get back to normal, the five of them hanging out, he missed that.

"Uncle Schmidt, what do you think of these earrings?" Alexa said showing Schmidt the jewelry.

" Good eye , Alexa, I see your fashion sense is better than your folks." Schmidt said jokingly.

"Not funny Schmidt." Nick said glaring at his best friend.

" Thanks uncle Schmidt. Ok, Dad,I want to get mom these." Alexa said with a smile.

"Alright kiddo." Nick said ruffling her hair.

"Abba,can we get a pair for Mata too?" Ben asked, saying dad in Hebrew and mom in Hindi. Schmidt and Cece wanted to make sure Ben(short for Benyamin) was familiar with both his Jewish, and Indian culture. After Ben was born Schmidt reconnected with his Jewish roots in order to be an example for his son.

"Yeah, lets get her a bracelet too." Schmidt said picking up a matching bracelet.

They all walked toward the cashier, the kids chatting while Nick and Schmidt discussed plans to take the kids to a football game the next weekend Nick had Alexa. They then went their separate ways.

"Where to next Lexi?" Nick asked .

"Game stop, I want to get Ben a Hanukkah present." Alexa said leading her father toward the video game store.

After Game stop, the father and daughter had Jamba juice before heading to Nicks apartment. Nick whipped up some dinner, which they ate while watching a movie from red box. He had taken some cooking lessons before he'd proposed to Jess almost 12 years ago, surprising her with a homemade dinner before he popped the question.

"Dad...can I ask you a question" Alexa said when the movie ended.

"It's not about boys is it?" Nick said looking at his little girl,there was no way he was ready for the boy talk. Plus he figured that was a job for Jess, or maybe Cece, since Jess couldn't even say penis till she met him.

"No, its not about boys." Alexa said giggling.

"Good, and yes you can ask me anything kiddo." Nick said ruffling her hair.

" Do you still love mom..." Alexa said.

Nick didn't know how to answer that, if he said no, he would be lying. If he said yes, he didn't want it to give hope to his daughter that her parents would get back together, when there was a chance that they wouldn't. After thinking a few minutes he decided on a form of the truth.

"I'll always love your mother, because without her, I wouldn't have you." Nick said kissing her forehead.

"Ok." Alexa said, not quite satisfied with the answer, but from the slight twinge of pain she saw in her fathers eyes, the same twinge she saw in her own mothers eyes, she knew she should leave things alone, for now. She was quite perceptive for her age, especially when it came to her parents.

" Can I Skype with Ben, before bed?" Alexa asked. It was a ritual between her and her best friend and tonight's call they would be discussing something very important.

"Yeah, fifteen minutes then bed. I'm gonna wash the dishes,then I'll tuck you in." Nick said.

"Ok." Alexa said giving her dad a kiss on the cheek.

Nick watched as his daughter skipped happily toward the spare bedroom in his apartment. He grabbed their dinner dishes then headed over to the kitchen, turning on the faucet. As he waited for the water to turn warm, he thought back to four months ago, when he and Jess had arrived on the decision to separate.

_"I don't want to argue with you Jess..." Nick said, he had just gotten off work and he was in no mood to have his wife yelling at him._

_"I know...I'm so tired Nick, we can't keep fighting like this." Jess said sitting on their bed.  
_

_"This isn't working anymore ,is it?" Nick said sighing and running his hand up his face and through his hair as he sat next to her.  
_

_"No, I don't even know what we're fighting about, maybe we need some space from each other." Jess said.  
_

_"Space? Do you want..." Nick couldn't even say it.  
_

_"No...maybe just a separation." Jess said knowing what he was referring to.  
_

_"Oh..." Nick said.  
_

_" We have to think about Alexa, Nick, I can't put her through what my parents put me through, I wont." Jess said._

_"Ok. So how would this work?" Nick said.  
_

_"One of us would have to move out, for a little while." Jess said.  
_

_"I'll go." Nick said.  
_

_" And Alexa?" Jess said.  
_

_" She'll stay with you. We'll figure out some type of schedule so she'll be able to spend time with me" Nick said. There was no way he'd take his daughter from her mother, but he wouldn't abandon his daughter either, not like how his con man father had abandoned him and his Ma.  
_

_"Ok." Jess said.  
_

_"Ok." Nick said back.  
_

_The next day , after sitting Alexa down and explaining, as best that they could to a ten year old, what a separation was, Nick packed up some clothes and went to stay with Winston who had an extra room. A month passed and Nick decided to get a month to month apartment of his own so Alexa could spend nights with him. Jess would take Alexa to school and Nick moved his schedule around so that he could pick her up every day after school and she spent every other weekend with him.  
_

_They'd been in counseling for the past four months, but even with the aid of a counselor, things were not getting better between the two. It seemed as if they just couldn't pin point exactly what the problem was, which made solving it all the more harder.  
_

Nicks mind returned to present time, he grabbed a sponge and soap and started to wash the plates. Jess and their problems not too far in his mind._  
_

* * *

"Did you ask your Dad?" Ben said as he Skype'd with Alexa.

"Yeah, he took a little while to answer, then he said he'll always love her, cause of me. But I know its not just that. I know he misses her, and she misses him too. She sighs all the time, she never did that when he still lived with us, even when they used to fight." Alexa said.

" Whats the next phase of the plan?" Ben asked.

" I saw this really old movie that our moms used to watched when they were like our age, and I think we have to get them alone together, make them stay there till they make up." Alexa said.

"How are you gonna do that?" Ben asked.

" Christmas. They promised even though Dad moved out, that we'd still have our annual holiday party at home. I'm gonna need your help though." Alexa said.

"Sure, what do you need me to do?" Ben asked, he would do anything for Alexa, they'd known each other all their lives, and did everything together, They'd been born a few days apart, so they even celebrated their birthdays together.

"Here's the plan..." Alexa said then proceeded to tell him the plan.

"Got it." Ben said when she was done.

"My dads coming, I'll see you tomorrow at soccer practice." Alexa said. She and Ben were on the same boy/girl soccer team.

"k,good night Alexa." Ben said.

"Goodnight Ben." Alexa said then turned off her laptop.

Nick walked into the bedroom and placed her laptop on her dresser, while Alexa climbed into bed. After taking a puff of her inhaler, Nick then pulled the covers over her and tucked her in just the way she liked it, not too loose ,but not too tight.

"Goodnight,I love you Alexa." Nick said kissing her forehead.

"Love you too Daddy." Alexa said.

Nick then turned off the light and left her room closing the door behind him. As Alexa's eye lids began to close she thought about how, all she wanted for Christmas was her parents happy together again, and she hoped her plan would do the trick. With that last thought she succumbed to sleep, a smile on her face.

* * *

A/n: I hadn't intended for this to be as long as a chapter as it turned out to be, but sometimes a story writes its self on autopilot , expanding and growing from your initial idea, I hope y'all liked the first chapter, I will update again, after Ive added a new chapter to my fic "Miller meets Day", which if you haven't read yet ,is the sequel to my one-shot" I wont give up", both like this one are Nick/Jess Cece/Schmidt, thanks for reading reviews are appreciated Id love to hear what y'all think.

-Pessi . Rom


	2. Holiday Tension

Here is the second chapter, weekend got busy which is why I'm posting it now, I was going to make it the final chapter, but the end of this felt like a good spot to stop at, as well as a sort of set up for the next chapter which will indeed be the final chapter, I mean it this time,enjoy.

-Pessi . Rom

Thanks to: all who reviewed , favorited or followed me or this story , I appreciate and am glad y'all are enjoying my new girl fic/fics

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the names/personalities of the kiddies

Chapter 2: Holiday tension

"Alexa are you dressed?" Jess called to her daughter. Guest would be arriving soon for their holiday party.  
Jess was nervous and she didn't know why. It could be the fact that Nick and her would be in the same room for over an hour, for the first time in four months.

"Yes, I'm wrapping Dad's present then I'll come down" Alexa yelled back.

"Good." Jess said then headed to the kitchen checking up on the Christmas cookies she had baked.

She hadn't noticed until after she'd put them in the oven that they were Nicks favorite.

Nick always had a way of sneaking into her thoughts. Which shouldn't be a surprise seeing how he'd managed to sneak into her heart fourteen years ago ,and stayed there. She let out a big sigh, just as Alexa walked into the room.

" You okay mom?" Alexa said walking over to her mother.

"Yeah sweetheart I'm fine. Do you want to help me set out the cookies?"

"Yep ." Alexa said .

Jess grabbed an oven mitt and towel and took a cookie tray out of the oven, while Alexa grabbed some cookie plates from the cupboard.

Jess pulled out a second tray, and after the cookies were cool enough, Alexa helped her transfer them to the plates.

As they set the cookies on the table filled with other home cooked snacks and treats, the doorbell rang signaling the arrival of their first guest.

"I'll get it!" Alexa said running to the door.

"Ask who it is before you open the door." Jess reminded her daughter.

"Who is it?!" Alexa said standing in front of the door.

"It's Winston and Gabby." Winston said.

Alexa smiled then opened the door to see her Uncle Winston and his six year old daughter Gabby. Winston's wife Laura was a doctor and couldn't make it to the party because she had to work.

"Merry Christmas! " Alexa said hugging her Uncle and saying hello to Gabby who was a little shy.

"Winston, you made it! Hello there Gabby would you like a cookie" Jess said walking over.

"Yes please." Gabby said with a small smile .

"Come along then." Jess said taking the little girls hand and leading her over to the table.

Alexa , accepted a few gifts from Winston and went to place them under the lavishly decorated Christmas tree, located in their salon. They always had secret Santa assigned for the party guest.

The Christmas tree was covered in dozens of store bought and homemade ornaments, as well as oscillating lights in every color, Jess had somehow outdone herself this year.

Alexa glanced at an ornament that was particularly special to her. The ornament was as old as she was. It contained pictures of her parents and hers that covered the surface of the circular ornament. Her favorite was the pose containing Nick and Jess starring lovingly into each others eyes, while a few months old Alexa sat between them.  
She would do anything to have that happy family again, and tonight she was prepared to make that happen, because love like the one her parents had , couldn't just disappear.

With that thought she turned on her mothers iPod which started to broadcast Christmas music in the house.

* * *

Nick watches from his car as more guest entered the house , until four months ago, he'd shared with Jess.

He had been the first to arrive , but couldn't bring himself to go in. Looking at the clock and seeing that it looked like everyone else had arrived, he finally decided to go in.

Grabbing a bag containing a gift for Alexa as well as his secret Santa gift , he got out of his car and walked down the path leading to the front door.

Taking a deep breath and running his hand through his hair , he tentatively pressed the doorbell. He heard it ring, heard some yelling inside before hearing footsteps leading to the door.

"Merry Chris" Nick began to say , but the words left him as he became speechless once seeing who answered the door.

* * *

Jess was stirring a big pot of her famous hot chocolate while chatting with Cece when she heard the door bell ring.  
"Alexa, can you get the door!" Jess yelled, but got no response.

"She's probably playing video games with Ben and Gabby"Cece said.

"Your probably right, I'll answer it, can you man the coco?" Jess said taking off her apron.

"Sure." Cece said as Jess walked out of the kitchen.

Jess walked over to the front door and peeked through the peep hole. She bit her lip when she saw Nick. He was looking very handsome in a casual suit, a bag of what she assumed was gifts in his hand.  
She thought about how odd it was him being on the other side of the door, when just last year he had been in the kitchen 'helping' her bake the cookies.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, plastering a smile on her face.

"Merry Chris" Nick began but stopped and just stared at her.

"What? Do I have flour on my face" Jess said brushing hers hands on her face.

" No, Jess , you look wow...you look beautiful" Nick said taking in her appearance.

Jess had on simple yet beautiful red dress with green trim. Her curly hair was flowing against her shoulders and she had on a pair of black boots that warmed and showed off her legs nicely.

"Oh, um...thank you Nick." Jess said motioning for her estranged husband to enter the house.

"Daddy!" Alexa said suddenly appearing .

"Merry Christmas Lexi. These are for the secret Santa, and this is for you." Nick said hugging her then pulling out a wrapped present from the bag in his hand.

"Thank you Daddy." Alexa said.

" I 'll take those, everyone is in the living room." Jess said motioning to the bag Nick had.

"Thanks , Jess." Nick said handing Jess the bag.

He was determined to be polite and keep his anger in check during the party. Alexa looked forward to the holiday party every year and he wasn't going to ruin it for his little girl. It seemed Jess had the same thing in mind.

Jess watched Nick walk away with their daughter. She then walked over to the Christmas tree. A particular ornament caught her eye and a sad sigh left her lips.  
" You ok Jess?" A voice said behind her. She turned to see Cece.

"Yeah , I'm fine." Jess said, with forced enthusiasm .

" Jess, what exactly happened?" Cece asked.

" What do you mean?" Jess asked.

" You know, with you and Nick?"  
Cece said. She was shocked when Jess told her , they were separating.

She knew the couple had been having some issues, but she never expected Nick to move out. Or for this fight or whatever it was , to have lasted that long.

At first she thought Nick had done something , but Schmidt had told her that Nick always seemed so down . Nick didn't like to talk about his feelings, but he'd drunkenly admitted to Schmidt and Winston, during a guys night out , that something was broken between him and Jess and he'd do anything to fix it, to put his family back together.

" He said I looked beautiful, and I got butterflies Cece." Jess said.

"And that's a bad thing, why?" Cece asked.

"Because it makes me angry" Jess said.

"Why does it make you angry?"Cece said still not getting it.

"Because, I...we should get back to the party I'm being a horrible hostess." Jess said changing the subject and starting to walk away.

"Jess, wait, you should talk about this." Cece said.

" No Cece, I'm not talking about this, I'm going to rejoin my guest , pass out cookies, hot chocolate and eggnog. I'm gonna smile and make this party the best yet, for Alexa, nothing else matters." Jess said walking out of the room.

Cece shook her head, she'd tried. She wanted her best friend to be happy again , but this was Jess' marriage , she just hoped some how the two would be able to figure it out , not just for Alexa's sake, but for the pairs own happiness.

* * *

A/n:thanks for reading , please review it helps me grow as a writer, I'll try to post the last chapter by the end of the week or early weekend and look out for " Miller meets day" which I hope to post within the next few days.

-Pessi . Rom


	3. Parent Trap

**A/n :** _Here it is the third and final chapter, sickness combined with the holidays, delayed me from writing and posting this,then I had computer issues but here you go, its quite long and a bit angsty, but hang in there ,things for Jess and Nick will be resolved, enjoy_.

**-Pessi . Rom**

Thanks to: _all who reviewed , Favorited or followed me or this story , I appreciate and am glad y'all are enjoying my new girl fic/fics_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the names/personalities of the kiddies_

**Chapter 3:** _Parent Trap_

After Jess walked away from Cece, the party continued and it was time for the secret Santa gift exchange. Gifts were exchanged and laughs followed as the type of secret santa they did was a mix of white elephant giving, so the gifts between the adults were gag gifts.

When the secret santa was over, Jess started to clean up a little, gathering plates and empty cups. Nick decided to help her out, and followed her into the kitchen. Jess had a tall stack in her hands.

" Let me take those, I can wash them." Nick said trying to be helpful.

"No, its fine Nick, I got it." Jess said pulling away from him.

"I want to help, you're carrying way too many dishes." Nick said reaching again to grab some, but again she pulled away stubbornly.

"They aren't even that heavy, I got this." Jess said.

"It doesn't matter, how heavy they are, just let me help, so none of them break." Nick said trying to grab some of the plates a third time.

"Seriously, when have I ever broken a plate?" Jess said insulted.

" Are you kidding me Jess, I can count on both hands how many dishes you've broken over the years. " Nick said starting to get fed up with her stubbornness.

"How dare you..." Jess began ,but was cut off mid sentence when Ben frantically entered the room.

" Uncle Nick , Auntie Jess come quick. Alexa and I were in the basement I think she's having an asthma attack, you gotta hurry !"

Jess immediately dropped the dishes, not caring if they broke, then she and Nick rushed to the basement entrance. They get down the stairs calling frantically for Alexa and as they get deeper into the basement they hear the door shut and lock behind them.

"She's not here." Nick said after frantically searching the small room.

"You think! Its obvious whats happening, Alexa parent trapped us..." Jess said shaking her head in disbelief.

" You being the expert would know , and I thought we vowed never to let her watch it?" Nick said.

" I know, but she must have found my old copy down here,when we were getting the Christmas decorations." Jess said, remembering her daughter foraging through the random boxes they kept down in the basement.

" Dammit, Jess!" Nick said, and that's when he heard a voice, sounding very much like their daughter.

"You hear that?" Jess said having heard it too.

"Where is that coming from?" Nick said looking , looked around too.

" There." Jess said before walking over to their billiards table where she sees a walkie talkie, the one she and Nick had gotten Alexa for her tenth birthday, a couple of months before their separation.

" Alexa-Nicole Miller , you unlock that door this minute, young lady, this is not funny." Jess said picking up the receiver and talking into the walkie.

"That's not gonna work give it to me." Nick said snatching the walkie from Jess.

"Lexi sweetheart you've had your fun now unlock the door, and let me and your mother out, I promise you wont get in trouble." Nick said trying to play the good cop.

"No, not until you two make up, I'm tired of you too being separated. I know you still love mom, and not just because of me, so work it out." Alexa said then all they heard was static.

"Alexa, Alexa!" Nick yelled, but there was no response.

" Dammit!" Nick said. running his hand over his face

"Nice going genius." Jess said frowning at him.

" Your way didn't work either." Nick said smugly.

"You didn't even let me finish, and now we are trapped , trapped in this little cramped basement , trapped.. oh my god, the walls, the walls are closing in on me." Jess said walking away from Nick, then she started to panic then hyperventilate. Nick worried quickly rushed over to her, making her sit down.

"Breathe Jess , the walls aren't moving, it's ok breathe." Nick said as he soothingly rubbing her back . Jess hadn't had a claustrophobic attack in years, nonetheless he knew what he needed to do to calm her down.

"It's ok, baby, just breathe slowly, there's plenty of air, in and out, in and out." Nick said, the endearment just slipping out. Slowly Jess' breathing returned to normal. They both stayed silent till Jess spoke.

" Thanks." Jess said breaking the silence.

"For what ?" Nick said.

"Calming me down." Jess said.

" I had to, wife dies, the first thing they do is look at the estranged husband." Nick laughed, a bit strained.

"Right, _estranged..."_ Jess said then got up and moved away from him. His hands were still rubbing circles on her back, and had suddenly grown from soothing to too hot.

"What happened to us Jess?" Nick said staying seated on the ground, while Jess stood a few feet away, her back turned to him.

" I don't know Nicholas , I guess we just grew apart." Jess said, sighing.

"We're the same people , aren't we?" Nick said.

" Maybe that's the problem." Jess said quietly.

"But, you fell in love with, you married, the guy that I am." Nick said.

"Yeah ,and you fell in love with and married the woman that I am." Jess said turning to look at him

" So what changed? Other than us becoming parents to a sneaky and stubborn ten year old , who's gonna be grounded for a year! Nick yells but knows Alexa would only hear him if he yelled against the door, the basement walls were thick.

" Nothing, I'm still the woman you fell in love with , the one you used to love..." Jess said.

" Used to love...this has never been about me not loving you Jess, I'll always love you." Nick said, standing up and leaning against the basement wall.

" If that's true, then why did you agree to a separation? I kept waiting for you to disagree with me, to fight, but you didn't. You left , you packed up and you moved out." Jess said a pained look on her face.

" I thought that was what you wanted , you can't expect me to read your mind Jess, I left to make you happy, because you wanted us to have some time apart." Nick said

" Maybe that's what changed, you used to be able to read my mind, you used to know that being away from you would never make me happy, no matter how I mad I got at you." Jess said.

" Dammit , why didn't you just say that Jess , why didn't you ask me to stay? Why didn't you ask me to come back , it's been four months !" Nick said, thinking of how slow each day without her had been.

" I don't know, Nick...I guess I was scared, scared you didn't want me. Scared that I'd pushed you so far away. That if it wasn't for Alexa you wouldn't even want to see me." Jess said.

Nick didn't know what to do, so he stayed silent , breathing in and out , and eventually sighing and closing his eyes.

" Nick..." Jess said.

" Hmm." Nick said opening his eyes and looking at her.

"I'm sorry..." Jess said softly.

"Why are you apologizing Jess, you have nothing to apologize for." Nick said calmly.

" Don't I , it was my stupid idea for us to separate, I should have realized it wasn't what either of us wanted." Jess said looking down.

" It's not your fault, Jess, it's mine. I should have never agreed to it , it killed me to be away from you. I wanted to come back and even tried to tell you in therapy , but the stupid words wouldn't come out right and before i knew it months had passed." Nick said thinking back to their marriage counseling sessions.

"No,I could have asked you to come back , it's clearly my fault." Jess said.

" No it's not, it's mine." Nick said stubbornly. That's when Jess started laugh, it started out as giggle then erupted into full on laughter.

" What's so funny?" Nick said confused.

" Us, are we seriously arguing about whose fault it is? We're trapped in our basement because our daughter locked us in, we got bested by a ten year old." Jess said then continued to laugh. Nick started to laugh too.

"That is pretty funny , she parent trapped us, she totally parent trapped us and..." Nick said, but Jess cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

" And it worked." Jess said lifting her head and looking at him with her sparkling blue eyes.

" It worked?" Nick said, his voice catching as he said them.

"Yes, I love you Nick , and you belong here in our home, with our daughter, with me...I want you to move back in.  
I know we have our issues , but I know we can get past them. We both just really have to make the effort to communicate , cause I don't want to wake up another morning without you lying next to me. I miss you giving me your stupid turtle face, cause I stare at you when you sleep." Jess said, tears starting to flow.

" I love you too Jess , and I promise not to move out ever again, I've been miserable without you and I don't ever want to feel that way again." Nick said staring into her eyes.

He then walked over to her gently cupping her face with his hand, after brushing away the tears from her eyes, he pulled her in for the first kiss they've had in months. The kiss started out tender and sweet, but quickly turned passionate as they unleashed four months of repressed passion, four months of longing.

When they break the kiss a few minutes later ,they head up the stairs and yell to Alexa to open the door. Alexa makes them promise that they have indeed gotten back together.

Alexa opened the door and eyed her parents suspiciously. When she notices the smile on her moms face and the way her father has his arm wrapped around her mothers waist, she knows they are telling the truth .She sees the love in their eyes ,the same love that was in that Christmas ornament when she was a baby .

The reunited couple head back into their living room and notice that all the guest are gone with the exception of Cece , Schmidt and Ben, Winston and Abby. They all share a toast of apple cider toasting to Nick and Jess, then they exchange regular gifts.

After their friends left, Nick and Jess put Alexa to bed, doing this together for the first time in months. They made sure their daughter breathed from her inhaler before sitting down to talk to her about her "parent trap".

"Sweetie we understand what you were trying to do..." Nick began.

"But you can never use your asthma like that again, an attack is serious, and should never be used to trick someone, your dad and I were really worried, and we could have gotten hurt racing to find you. We're gonna have to punish you, no skype for a week and Ben wont be allowed to come over and play either." Jess continued.

" I know, I won't ever do it again, I'm sorry, I just wanted you to make up, I didn't like it when Daddy was gone, I wanted us to be a family again." Alexa said, a small tear escaping. Even though she wouldn't be able to communicate with her best friend for a whole week, she knew her actions were worth it to have her Dad back full time.

" We'll always be a family, no matter what." Jess said hugging her daughter.

" I love you kiddo." Nick said kissing her forehead.

" I love you too, Dad." Alexa said a smile on her face.

"I love you Lexi bear, sweet dreams, baby girl". Jess said tucking her in.

" Love you too mama bear." Alexa said, then she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, a smile on her face for the fulfillment of her Christmas Wish.

Nick and Jess then headed to their bedroom. Once inside Nick pulled her into another passionate kiss and they proceeded to make love, reunited in every sense.

A Year Later

" Jessica and Nicholas, When you first joined hands and hearts in marriage 12 years ago, you did not know where life would take you. You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through all things. Life has surely brought you both wonderful blessings and difficult challenges over the years. But here you are today, having fulfilled the vows to love, honor and cherish you each made on your wedding day. As you celebrate here today, and as you reflect back over all the years as husband and wife, do you now wish to reaffirm the vows you took 12 years ago?"

" We do!" Jess and Nick said.

"Please face each other and join hands." The justice of the peace said.

Jess and Nick turned and faced each other. Soon after Nick had moved back into their house, they continued counseling and worked through their issues, and today they stood in front of their close friends, and family, their daughter Alexa and their three month old son Robert Nicholas Miller,conceived the night they reunited, renewing their vows and commitment to each other.

"Nicholas ,will you continue to have Jessica as your wife, and continue to live in this happy and loving marriage?"

"I Will." Nick said staring into her eyes, which seemed to sparkle more then the blue diamonds hanging on her ears.

"Do you reaffirm your love for her, and will you love, honor and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?" The justice of the peace said next.

"I Do." Nick said squeezing Jess' hands.

"Jessica, will you continue to have Nicholas as your husband and continue to live in this happy and loving marriage?" The justice of peace said, addressing Jess.

" I Will." Jess said grinning at her husband.

"Do you reaffirm your love for him, and will you love, honor and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him for as long as you both shall live?" The Justice of the peace asked again addressing Jess.

"I Do." Jess said, this time squeezing Nicks, hands.

"It is with pleasure that I conclude the ceremony of renewing the vows of marriage that joined you and forever binds you as husband and wife. Please celebrate this renewal of vows with a sign of affection…. You may kiss!" The Justice of the piece said.

Nick moved his hands from Jess's pulling her closer before kissing her passionately, their friends and family clapping. Their marriage, their family, strengthened, not just as parents, but forever lovers.

* * *

**A/n: **_thanks for reading , I struggled at first writing this I knew how I wanted to end it, but it wasn't till 1-2 am in the morning that it started to flow onto the paper, so the speak, I hope you enjoyed this , , I definitely enjoyed writing it,and you probably will see some form of Alexa in my upcoming stories. I got the outline for the renewal ceremony for the internet in case anyone was wondering, those are not my words. Unfortunately I start school on Monday , but I will try to have the next chapter for Marry You , up maybe even two, because school will keep me pretty busy, thanks again for reading, reviews as always are appreciated._

**-Pessi . Rom**


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